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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Chip Reece crowdfunded the extremely personal and inspirational tale of Metaphase.
Teaming with Kelly Williams, Reece is building a world featuring a
superhero with Down’s Syndrome in an original graphic novel unlike any
other. Reece was kind enough to give us the scoop on the story, the
campaign, and more below. (The graphic novel is out fall of 2014.)

Aaron Long: Let’s start at the beginning. How did Metaphase come to be?Chip Reece: Basically, I was inspired by my son
Ollie, who has Down’s Syndrome, and his superhero-like strength through
several major medical ordeals, including three open heart surgeries.
When I started to dig for comic book characters he could relate to as a
person with Down’s Syndrome, there wasn’t much out there, and absolutely
no superheroes. I found this odd, given how much my son and other kids
with Down’s Syndrome go through. 50% of all kids born w/ DS have
congenital heart defects (Ollie had two), one scary health fact out of
many. I wanted my son to have a comic book character that was like him,
heroic, inspirational and full of endless potential. That’s when I
started to pursue the idea.

Getting to where we are now is part luck and part working with really
great people. Initially the idea was to make it for my son, and share
it with the people that I know. I showed the script to the artist, Kelly
Williams, and we began to make plans to create a 10 page comic. A
chance conversation with Peter Simeti, Alterna Comics publisher, turned
into him offering to take the book on and encouraging us to put what we
had together for ComiXology’s 2013 Free Comic Book Day event. The
exposure there has been a big help leading up to this Kickstarter
launch.

AL: Can you describe the world of Metaphase?CR:
The world’s seemingly all-powerful superhero has a son who is his
physical opposite. Ollie is born with heart defects and Down’s Syndrome
and so his dad becomes overly protective, holding his son back from
pursuing his dream of being a hero just like his dad. This frustration
will lead Ollie to pursue the hero business on his own, with the help of
a company that claims it can give anyone superpowers through chromosome
tampering. His dad’s reluctance to let him pursue his dream ends up
creating a situation that his super-dad can’t handle, leaving his fate
in the hands of Ollie.

AL: What will Super Ollie be up against in Metaphase? Can you discuss what he will be facing in this 70+ page adventure?CR: Really, the biggest thing Ollie faces are the
limits that are assumed of him. The person Ollie looks up to most, his
dad, doesn’t fully believe in his potential because he’s scared he’ll
get hurt. There’s a nasty villain in the mix of it (because what kind of
superhero book would this be without it?) but at the heart of things,
it’s really about showing the world that individual’s with Down syndrome
aren’t defined by limits.

AL: Are there plans to produce more Metaphase issues in the future? Or is this a completely self contained story?CR: I’d love to, but I don’t want to get too far
ahead of myself. The story works as a stand alone, but is definitely
open for creating more. I’ve thought that it would be awesome to get
Ollie involved somehow as he gets older. Give him some input into future
stories. We’ll see!

AL: Your Kickstarter campaign is online right now. Can you discuss what rewards are available for backers?CR: There’s a great range of prices for the tiers we
have available. For those looking for the cheapest way to read the
book, they can pledge $10 for digital only or $15 for a print version
with Kelly William’s wraparound cover. Higher incentives include a
variant cover by legendary TMNT artist/writer Jim Lawson, “High Five”
editions where my son puts his hand print in the book, some original
artwork, and even as high as an Alterna Comics bundle that includes 27
graphic novels from their library!

AL: Any final words for Comicosity’s readers regarding Metaphase?CR: I appreciate Aaron and Comicosity giving
Metaphase the time of day. I believe diversity in comic books is
important and this is an area that’s seriously lacking. Most of all,
coverage like this goes a long way for raising awareness about
individuals with Down’s Syndrome and the things they can do. This
includes things like running restaurants, climbing Mt. Everest, and
giving inspirational speeches. They can even be our heroes. Thank you!

About Me

I am full-time Mass Communication faculty at Towson University in Maryland and adjunct faculty in the City University of New York (CUNY) Master's in Disability Studies program.
I research media and disability issues and wrote a 2010 book on the subject: Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media, published by Advocado Press.
The media have real power to define what the public knows about disability and that's what I research.